Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the billionaire founder of Binance, returned to his luxury home in Abu Dhabi last year after serving a US jail sentence for anti–money-laundering violations. His exchange was under tight US oversight and struggling to regain legitimacy. As Donald Trump’s campaign gained momentum, Zhao’s representatives began talks with Trump allies, seeking a path to ease Binance’s legal troubles.
After Trump’s election win, Binance created a task force to work with the Trump family’s new crypto company, World Liberty Financial. The goal, according to people familiar with the matter, was to strengthen the Trump-linked venture’s coin — and potentially help secure Zhao’s freedom, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The $2 billion boost
In early 2025, Binance engineers built the technology behind World Liberty’s stablecoin, USD1. Soon after, an Emirati investor, MGX, bought a $2 billion stake in Binance — paying entirely in USD1. That transaction massively inflated the stablecoin’s market value, from $127 million to over $2 billion, giving World Liberty new financial clout and credibility.
The Trump family’s stake in World Liberty, around 40%, entitled it to three-quarters of the company’s revenue, which surged to $1.4 billion over the past year. World Liberty insists it never discussed Zhao’s pardon and likened its relationship with Binance to a “typical supplier arrangement.”
The pardon and its aftermath
Trump pardoned Zhao last week, calling him a victim of “Biden’s lawfare.” The move shocked some administration officials, who had worried about pardoning a foreign businessman convicted of severe anti–money-laundering breaches. Critics said it signalled leniency toward corporate misconduct.
For Binance, the pardon opens the door to reentering the US market, which once contributed a third of its global revenue. It may also ease its ongoing monitoring by the Justice and Treasury Departments, though some oversight is expected to continue until 2029.
Political and business reactions
The White House denied any conflict of interest, saying neither the president nor his family benefited improperly. World Liberty also denied coordinating with Binance to influence Zhao’s pardon. Still, congressional Democrats and even some Trump allies have voiced concern that the timing of the pardon — following Binance’s apparent financial support of Trump’s crypto venture — could invite scrutiny.
Why it matters
Zhao’s pardon marks one of the most dramatic examples of Trump using presidential power to reward allies connected to his business interests. It also underscores the merging of politics and cryptocurrency, where regulatory decisions and personal fortunes increasingly overlap.
As Binance regains ground and World Liberty cements its dominance in the crypto space, the line between policy, profit, and presidential privilege has rarely looked thinner.
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